The Solemnity of Mary Mother of God commemorates the divine motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the God-Bearer, Mother of our Lord and God Jesus Christ. It is celebrated on January 1st, one week after Christmas.
Loving Mother of the Redeemer,
Gate of heaven, star of the sea,
Assist your people
who have fallen yet strive to rise again,
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before,
You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting,
have pity on us, poor sinners.
Gate of heaven, star of the sea,
Assist your people
who have fallen yet strive to rise again,
To the wonderment of nature you bore your Creator,
yet remained a virgin after as before,
You who received Gabriel's joyful greeting,
have pity on us, poor sinners.
[ChurchYear.Net] In the 4th and 5th centuries debates about the nature of Christ raged in the Church. The debate was about the relationship of Christ's divine and human natures. At the center of this debate was a title of Mary. Since at least the 3rd century, Christians had referred to Mary as theotokos, meaning "God-bearer." The first documented usage of the term is in the writings of Origen of Alexandria in AD 230. Related to theotokos, Mary was called the mother of God.
Referring to Mary this way was popular in Christian piety, but the patriarch of Constantinople from 428-431, Nestorius, objected. He suggested that Mary was only the mother of Jesus' human nature, but not his divine nature. Nestorius' ideas (or at least how others perceived his arguments) were condemned at the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, and again at the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451. The Church decided that Christ was fully God and fully human, and these natures were united in one person, Jesus Christ. Thus Mary could be called "mother of God" since she gave birth to Jesus who was fully divine as well as human. Since this time, Mary has been frequently honored as the "mother of God" by Catholics, Orthodox, and many Protestants.
The Solemnity of Mary Mother of God falls exactly one week after Christmas, the end of the octave of Christmas. It is fitting to honor Mary as Mother of Jesus, following the birth of Christ. When Catholics celebrate the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God we are not only honoring Mary, who was chosen among all women throughout history to bear God incarnate, but we are also honoring our Lord, who is fully God and fully human. Calling Mary "mother of God" is the highest honor we can give Mary. Just as Christmas honors Jesus as the "Prince of Peace," the Solemnity of Mary Mother of God honors Mary as the "Queen of Peace" This solemnity, falling on New Year's Day, is also designated the World Day of Peace.
2 comments:
Nod,
Good write-up. Something I could have read to my CCD kids, as we just talked about "Mary, Mother of the Church."
I do wish to nitpick, though. Let me start with this quote.
"[Nestorius] suggested that Mary was only the mother of Jesus' human nature, but not his divine nature."
I think Nestor's assertion that Mary is mother of the Son's human nature and not of the Divine nature is technically correct (by the way, I assume you cite Nestorius correctly). Your post seems to imply that it not correct. I do not mean to say, by the way, that Nestorius was right to jump to the conclusion that Mary is then not the Theotokos.
My understanding is that since Mary is the mother of the Son's human nature, she really is the mother of the Son, who is a Divine person. Thus, she is the Mother of God.
So, she is the Mother of God by virtue of being mother of the Son's human nature, and yet she is not the mother of the Divine nature at all.
Unless you want to argue that she is somehow that mother of the Divine nature by virtue of being the mother of a Divine person...
--Shoe
Sorry Shoe, the contested quote is from ChurchYear.net and not me directly. Yes, I cut and paste.
It goes on to say: "The Church decided that Christ was fully God and fully human, and these natures were united in one person, Jesus Christ. Thus Mary could be called "mother of God" since she gave birth to Jesus who was fully divine as well as human."
In other words, to Jesus' person.
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